


Particles

by AvisPraeda



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Established Relationship, Ficlet, Ficlet Collection, Fluff, M/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 22:41:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27823951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AvisPraeda/pseuds/AvisPraeda
Summary: A small collection of aimless ficlets focused around Aeleus and Ienzo/Lexaeus and Zexion.
Relationships: Aeleus/Ienzo (Kingdom Hearts)
Kudos: 39





	1. Dozing

**Author's Note:**

> I've been writing on and off to decompress, but it always felt too short to just...post. So I figured why not just do a little collection and add to it should the impulse arise. Of course tags will update to reflect any later content (IF there is any lol). Might contain some AUs too I dunno yet.
> 
> ANYWAY  
> \--------------------  
> Aeleus steals a moment for himself.

When Aeleus blinked awake and his bleary vision was met with direct sunlight, he almost leapt out of bed thinking he was terribly late for his shift--until the veil of sleep lifted while half propped up, hand grasping the blanket about to fling it away, and he recalled that they were all granted a week off by Ansem’s orders. The guards didn’t need to patrol before the crack of dawn, the scientists didn’t need to pull all-nighters in the labs. Judging by how it was well past sunrise, his body was already appreciating the break, even if his brain lagged behind.

He settled back into the mattress, deflating with his released breath when a thought occurred, and sure enough, upon looking to his right he found Ienzo, still curled under the blankets and out like a light. How he wasn’t at all disturbed by his bedmate’s aborted scramble from under the covers, Aeleus would never know. Normally Ienzo would’ve been awake already, if not on his feet and dragging himself to the nearest source of coffee, regardless of how late he’d stay up the previous night. Aeleus rolled onto his side to face Ienzo. There was no rush, right? It’d be a waste to miss out on such a rare occurrence.

The sun shone against Ienzo’s back, casting a halo over the blue-grey of his hair. Half his face sank into the pillow, and his hair shrouded the rest from view completely, leaving the steady rise and fall of the blanket that cocooned him, devoid of any stutters or deep gasps or mumbling, to tell Aeleus that it was a sound sleep.

Before he could begin thinking about it, Aeleus reached forward until his fingers brushed against Ienzo’s bangs. Slowly, meticulously, he felt around until he had the fringe hooked, then dragged the hair away and to the side as if drawing open curtains to peek through. Despite being a notoriously light sleeper Ienzo didn’t so much as twitch, his serene expression untarnished; relaxed, the downward angle of his brow less harsh than when he sat neutral, lips parted ever so slightly, not a sign of distress to be found. Something only Aeleus could witness, was ever afforded the _chance_ to.

Aeleus’s fingers moved, and a clump of hair escaped and fell back into place. As he went to retrieve it, easing the rest of the hair down so he could readjust, re-hook, return to admiring unobstructed, he took it one extra step further. When he pulled the hair away again, he reached in a little further, letting the backs of two fingers graze over Ienzo’s cheek. The only touch he could risk stealing without waking Ienzo. A risk was a risk however, and this time the corner of Ienzo’s lip and eye scrunched. Aeleus stilled, the knuckles of his fingers rested against the skin of his cheek, mind already halfway towards retreating and forming an apology for disturbing him--it lasted no more than a moment as Ienzo’s expression smoothed back out, remaining in his peaceful sleep. Another two seconds passed before Aeleus breathed deeply in relief.

Later on he would cup that cheek fully once Ienzo awoke, and watch as the man would sleepily nuzzle into the touch as a morning greeting. Until then, he’d bask in gazing at that wonderful, calm face, and commit it to memory.


	2. Curiosity

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ienzo and Aeleus share a mundane chat on one of the castle balconies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A touched-up writer's sprint I did with a friend. I was originally going to post it next week to space things out, but my schedule is packed for awhile.
> 
> Originally there were no clouds. I was informed sometime later that there are indeed clouds in TWTNW. Just pretend there aren't any that can make rain shhhhhhh
> 
> \----

“Why did it rain?”

Ienzo said suddenly. Aeleus blinked as he turned to look.

“It’s been bothering me for awhile now. Even before Oblivion. I’d look out the window while finalizing documents, and I could tell it was raining. But the clouds were akin to wisps, or to a fog, not large enough to contain such a deluge of rain. There was no clear source. It just… was.” He gestured to the sky, to the trace of cumulus clouds passing the moon. “And I’d suddenly wonder why it was. But it wasn’t something I needed to know, so I passed it off, pushed it out of my thoughts until I forgot. Now though…”

He took a slow breath through his nose, curiosity and frustration running twin trails around his head, trying to imagine that the sky was pitch black and starless, that the clouds weren’t there. That the moon was heart shaped.

“Why did it rain there? What made it possible? Was there a source of water in The World That Never Was? Were there larger clouds, but we simply couldn’t see them? How were there variations in weather? In temperature? For what purpose? I gain nothing inherently useful from knowing any of this, and it’s something I’ll likely never get to know now that it’s gone. Something so small, it won’t stop nagging at me. Even if I went and interrogated every possible source of information, all I would get for my time is satisfaction.”

Finally, he met Aeleus’s steady gaze, lip quirking into a smile. “And I’m beginning to think just that may be enough.” Rather than push off of the rail, he turned so his back rested against it, setting elbows up on top. “I don’t suppose you’ve encountered anything like this? Something so miniscule and unimportant, yet it won’t stop plaguing your curiosity?”

Aeleus remained silent for a beat, two beats, and returned his eyes to the sky. “There...is something.”

“Oh?” Ienzo tilted his head, brow cocked. 

Another brief pause to collect his thoughts, and then Aeleus spoke with an airy, aimless gesture, “Who hired that cloaked moogle? Whose _idea_ was it?”

Now it was Ienzo’s turn to blink, and the two exchanged a perplexed look before delving into silent thought, and in turn were graced with the mental image of Saïx or, hearts forbid, Xemnas trying to haggle with the tiny white creature. In unison they both snorted, which quickly devolved into a fit of poorly constrained giggling and snickering.

“We could always ask,” Ienzo managed as he fought to wrangle in his laughter, “I doubt Isa would mind such an innocuous question.”

“We could,” Aeleus agreed with a hum, settling once more onto the railing, arms crossing overtop, “Send him a message right now, actually. I think I’d like to experience the satisfaction of knowing.”


	3. Glow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A quiet moment together during the holidays

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was churned out between FFXIV raid pulls haha

Far above the plaza, sheltered from both the weather and the crowd below, Ienzo watched the winter festivities. Stalls containing nick-nacks or games dotted the town, shops had spruced up for the season, various groups of kids and adults playing in the snow across the different districts he looked over. Someone even started an impromptu ice sculpture contest off in the gardens. Briefly, as he sipped from his mug of tea, he toyed with the mental image of Even entering just to blow the competition away and inflate his pride, and his lips quirked into a smirk. By far the most popular location, dead center of the plaza, sat the gigantic fir tree dressed to the nines, with couples and families and folks of all sorts gathering to admire it and take pictures and sing. A donation from Mickey, since the forests beyond the walls had yet to properly recover.

According to the sweet lady running the new bakery, the tree was meant to symbolize undying love. He didn’t know if it was a new thing drummed up by the committee to spread cheer, or if it had been a tradition from way before, when he was still a child who couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to any of it. None of it really mattered to him beyond some interesting tidbit to carry any small talk while he ran errands, but the townsfolk seemed to be enjoying the idea. That made the hassle of setting it up, and the weeks of rogue pine needles and tinsel appearing on his person, worth it.

When the cold seeped through his jacket and forced a shiver from him, he decided it was time to turn in from his people-watching in favor of somewhere warmer. The library came to mind, and the tree was in turn forgotten for a time.

Late at night, twenty two minutes past one am, the tree returned to his thoughts. It wasn’t as though he had much else going on, sleep being so far from his grasp and the lab barred from access for the holidays on Ansem’s word, and as he made to roam the castle grounds his legs eventually brought him to the rope fence.

He hadn’t had the chance to see the tree up close while the lights were on and, he had to admit, they all truly did a magnificent job for the first attempt at decorating in a decade. The committee had fought for a good while over whether the icicle lights would be too much or not with the other rainbow of normal bulbs, and now with the way the snow dusted each branch rather than clumping up over top, the icicles meshed in well.

No crowds, only the glow of the tree and distant street lamps cutting through the darkness, silence padded by the snow. Alone with the tree. A special kind of serenity, not unlike the moments of solace he would once steal out in the fountain courts as a child, settled over him like a comfortable blanket. And yet…something felt missing.

Right on cue, as if summoned by the dim thought alone, he heard footsteps crunching through the ice and snow from behind. Neither of them exchanged a word when Aeleus came up to stand right alongside Ienzo, head tilted back to gaze up at the tree. Both were well aware of their mutual late night wandering, devoid of direction or meaning, though something told Ienzo it wasn’t the case for Aeleus this time. Well, not intentionally.

Watching Aeleus from the corner of his eye, Ienzo’s thoughts drifted back to the old baker, her yearning to share a treat with her husband under the tree, rest his soul, and the symbolism applied to it. Undying love, huh…?

His eyes flit down to Aeleus’s hands, covered only by his regular guard gloves, and Ienzo’s heart rate pitched up. The cold was never an issue for Aeleus, always burning like a walking furnace, so it wasn’t like he could use worry over the temperature of Aeleus’s relatively unprotected hands as an excuse…

But would he really need an excuse? They were alone. Nobody was there to notice. It was no different than behind closed doors.

Ienzo reached for his hand, then paused, hesitated, fingers curling away mere inches from Aeleus’s palm. It lasted no longer than three tense heartbeats, blowing a slow breath through his nose as he finally slipped their palms together and held firm. Immediately he heard Aeleus inhale deep. Watched, felt his hand tense, and at the very first slight tug away Ienzo’s heart sank a little. That was fine. Disappointing, but fine, he could admit the move was still bold for how fresh the relationship was. They still technically were in public after all--anyone could happen to peek out the window and witness their moment, and maybe that thought alone was too much.

But then Aeleus’s hand shifted, and instead of letting go he threaded his fingers between Ienzo’s, a gentle squeeze making Ienzo’s eyes widen and heart soar far past the star topper. He stared at their hands, almost bewildered at the sight, then blinked up at Aeleus; his stony gaze remained firmly at the tree, but his ears burned a fierce red--not just from the cold, Ienzo mused to himself, letting a soft, airy chuckle bubble out. 

Just the two of them, hand in hand before the tree, the missing piece slotted comfortably into place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes the tree symbolism idea was taken from Before Crisis shhhhhhhhHHHHHH


	4. Pomegaverse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Aeleus protects Ienzo from a misaimed spell, it's up to Ienzo to change Aeleus back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is it too late for Pomeranians?
> 
> Meant as a writing exercise rather than something more refined.

“And _I'm_ saying that you're full of crap!” Cid's chair clattered to the floor as he shot up and jabbed a finger at Merlin, lip curled in a snarl. Merlin flinched, but recovered quickly and met Cid's glare with one of his own.

At that moment, Ienzo silently looked to the door, weighing the pros and cons of simply slipping out while they were occupied, never mind that his casual suggestion to magically synthesize replacement batteries instead of seeking ones from the castle basement was the catalyst for their fight. Behind him, he could feel the waves of second-hand embarrassment rolling off of Aeleus.

“You two are being ridiculous! Does it really matter that much?” Yuffie, exasperated, stepped forward with her arms crossed over her chest.

“Of course it does!” Both Cid and Merlin snapped back in unison, rounding their aggression at her instead. She remained unfazed.

Aerith exchanged a glance with Ienzo, then cocked her head towards the exit, as if giving them permission to flee, no hard feelings. Ienzo smiled weakly and mouthed _thank you_ , gratitude stomping out any uncertainty over being rude, and upon giving a nudge to Aeleus, the two made their way towards the door with quiet, softened steps.

When Ienzo reached for the knob, the scent of ozone struck him like a sucker punch. His head snapped up, hair on the back of his neck standing on edge, danger blaring in his ears and tightening in his gut. Just as he whipped around to asses, he heard Merlin shout “I'll show you—!” and barely witnessed Cid dive to the side, revealing a crackling bolt of blue energy hurtling right for him. Before he could react—duck, turn the knob, shield his face, anything—Aeleus all but jumped in front.

Smoke erupted from the spot and covered the room, forcing Ienzo to flinch away and blink repeatedly to alleviate irritation. He tried to wave it away from his face with one hand, tried to reach out in front of him with the other, searching for Aeleus through the smoke, and was met with nothing. The smoke cleared gradually and Ienzo squinted through it to see everyone else in various states of recoil themselves, save for Merlin—any trace of anger had vanished, replaced with surprise and quickly mounting sheepishness—and Aeleus, who was no longer standing as a brick wall between the attack and Ienzo.

His eyes travelled lower, terror rising in his chest as he expected to witness his beloved guard sprawled upon the ground; instead, there was a dog—a Pomeranian to be exact, full brown-orange, with a rather bad case of static cling from the way its fur fizzed out. It was difficult to tell where the dog began and ended, until he actually saw its head move to glance around unsteadily.

Confusion took over Ienzo, brow pinched as he stared down at the dog, until he collected himself enough to utter “Aeleus?” The dog staggered and turned to look up at him, wide eyes reflecting his confusion back at him. A beat of complete quiet passed as reality set in.

He had to bite the inside of his cheek to not immediately erupt into laughter.

“Oh dear,” Merlin muttered, “I-I'm terribly sorry about that. That wasn't meant for you.”

“You were going to turn Cid into a _dog_?!” Yuffie barked out a laugh of her own.

“Well—“

“He's so cute!” Aerith knelt down beside Aeleus and reached out to run her fingers through the fur on his back, but he yipped and scrambled away, bumping into Ienzo's leg. He began to shrink in on himself, as if trying to wink out of existence or phase through the floor.

Ienzo immediately took pity on him and leaned down to scoop him up, chest clenching when he felt Aeleus flinch and wiggle before he realized who it was touching him now. _Poor Aeleus,_ he thought with both amusement and worry as he secured the lump of fluff in his arms, feeling the way his tiny heart thumped hard in panic.

Ienzo glanced back at Merlin for an explanation, and the old wizard averted his gaze to Cid. “It was unintentional, I assure you. The spell is meant to transform a person into a form that will force them to calm down.”

“And how is _that_ supposed to calm someone down?!” Cid all but yelled from the floor, throwing his arm out in a sharp gesture towards Aeleus.

“The spell is still in the experimental stages, you see.”

“You were going to use some unfinished hex on me to—“

Sensing another argument on the rise, Ienzo loudly cleared his throat to nip it in the bud. “Will you be able to change him back?”

“There's two ways to,” Merlin began, tearing his glare away from Cid, “the person must become completely relaxed to return to normal, otherwise it will wear off on its own in a couple days.”

Ienzo frowned, but refrained from commenting on the efficiency of testing a spell like that with no emergency out. So they could either leave Aeleus be—preferably not, he knew Aeleus would inevitably end up wallowing in embarrassment and remain miserable the whole time—or he needed to relax. But how could Aeleus truly relax while trapped in the form of a Pomeranian, a rather excitable breed last he'd read. Ienzo's thumb began to idly run along the fur of Aeleus's chest.

“I see,” he said finally, an idea coalescing in his mind. “That shouldn't be much of a problem.”

As he left Merlin's home, he realized that the soft thumping against his arm was Aeleus's tail wagging.

Luckily, Ienzo slipped back inside the castle and up to their room without being spotted; he could only imagine Aeleus physically evaporating from his grasp the moment Ansem or, goodness, _Dilan_ saw him. Once the door was safely closed he pulled out his phone to send Ansem a message announcing their return and subsequent break, and simultaneously set Aeleus onto the bed.

“How are you feeling?” He asked as he set the phone aside and shucked out of his jacket. Aeleus responded with a low, sad whine, head drooping, and Ienzo reached out to run his palm over Aeleus's forehead twice. The tail began wagging again, a soft whump as it whipped the blanket. “You'll be alright. I know what will help.”

Aeleus watched Ienzo sit on the edge of the bed, slip off his boots, then scoot further inwards until his back rested against the pillows. He patted the spot next to him, and Aeleus followed, but as he drew near Ienzo tucked his hands under Aeleus's belly and dragged him onto his lap. Aeleus squirmed, huffed at being tricked, but his tail betrayed him once again, smacking repeatedly on Ienzo's thigh.

“If relaxing is the cure, then attention is warranted. Just pretend this is a normal day off.” Ienzo said softly as Aeleus finally settled down under Ienzo's hands. “Comfortable?” He chuckled when Aeleus released a deep sigh as a response, and took it as a sign of acceptance.

Slowly, one hand began to stroke along his back, flattening the puffed out fur the best he could. With the other hand still holding the dog, fingers lazily scratched his side. “Close your eyes and breathe,” Ienzo mumbled, and Aeleus did just that, pressing his cheek to Ienzo's stomach. The hand at his side slid up to his shoulder, then down along to one front paw, careful of the sharp Pomeranian nails as he took it into his grasp. First his thumb brushed along the top once, twice, then he shifted it to burrow through the fur and squish against one of the pads underneath.

Aeleus whined, head tilting up to squint, and Ienzo couldn't look apologetic if he tried as he gave a quick “sorry,” and released the paw. Another sigh from Aeleus when a palm was instead pressed to his cheek, and warmth bloomed in Ienzo's chest when he felt Aeleus nuzzle into his hand, briefly pausing his stroke to give his side and belly some attention. Gradually he felt the tension melt from the tiny body, the kicked up heart rate slowing to what he guessed was something more normal for such a small animal.

All the while, that tail simply would not stop wagging.

Ienzo took the liberty of laying back himself, partially sinking against the pillows, and in turn Aeleus stretched out, little paws sticking in the air. When he took the hand from Aeleus's face to help move the dog onto his stomach fully, he received absolutely no help nor resistance; Aeleus was practically a ragdoll, and Ienzo struggled to not laugh and disrupt him with the shaking.

“I take it you're enjoying yourself.” He purred, and Aeleus responded by sprawling out completely and pillowing his head on Ienzo's chest, staring right at him lazily. Ienzo cupped Aeleus's face with both hands, thumbs squishing his cheeks until Aeleus's eyes fell shut. “You know,” he whispered, his breath gently ruffling the fur of Aeleus's head, “I would be happy to take time off if we could do this more often. As a human, of course.”

No reply. Ienzo continued. “I don't always get to pamper you like this. It'd be nice to change that.”

Nothing. By the soft rise and fall of the mound of fluff, he felt it safe to assume Aeleus was, at the very least, on the cusp of falling asleep. He leaned up, a little awkwardly to avoid jostling and disturbing him, and pressed a light kiss to the fuzzy forehead.

He did not expect the small puff of smoke that blew into his face as he pulled back, nor did he expect the sudden drop of weight onto his body, breath forced out of him in a rush. Struggling to withhold his coughs, he covered his mouth with his arm while the smoke dissipated as quickly as it formed. Left behind lay Aeleus, once again human in all his massive glory, draped face-down overtop Ienzo with one cheek still cupped in his hand and his temple resting against Ienzo’s quivering chest. Immediately, Aeleus's first inhale was a low snore.

Ienzo fought _hard_ to catch his breath without jolting, whether from a cough or an exasperated little laugh, inwardly thankful that the hex being broken wasn't quite as aggressive as it had been initially taking effect. Once he was able to hold air again, assured that Aeleus wouldn't be aware of his little struggle, he carded his fingers into Aeleus's hair to resume his soft ministrations. His heart flipped wonderfully when he felt the upwards quirk of Aeleus's lip against the palm at his cheek.

He'd already let Ansem know they were going to be missing for a couple hours, and he _did_ say that he wished to dole out more attention to his much-deserving guard. Ienzo saw no need to wake him yet.


End file.
